Among the complaints from motorcyclists who unsuccessfully fought the more-than-doubling of their annual registration fees is this: They say they’re being asked to pay more at a time when the services the state offers them are being reduced.

The MVC this year discontinued no-fee motorcycle safety education courses the state had offered since 1996 in Egg Harbor and Sea Girt, paid for using parts of the proceeds from a $5 surcharge on all motorcyle licenses. There remain nine safety program course providers in the state, both nonprofit and for-profit; Harrington said the state’s costs were “well in excess of $500″ and more than double what some providers charge for a course, which she said ranges from $200 to $500.

“The state at one point competed with the nonprofit sector and offered motorcycle training. About 10 percent of the motorcyclists in New Jersey, or about 800 a year, would take training programs. There about about 8,000 who take training safety programs each year. The state ran two locations. We made a decision not to do that this year,” Harrington said. “It’s perceived to be free by the 800 people who don’t pay for it, but it actually costs the state twice as much as it costs to take that program through the providers who do that as their business.”

A large number of commenters criticized the fee hike in light of the program cut and questioned whether the state is spending their fee money properly; many promised not to let the issue go, even if the fee proposal went through. Harrington said the MVC reviewed its operations to look for ways to reduce costs and decided competing with the private sector didn’t make sense.

“It’s not our business. We would have to bring on interim employees, temporary employees, because the program’s primarily run on the weekends. We assessed our business, talked with stakeholders, and decided the role of the state should be set guidelines, monitor compliance and audit the programs to make sure they’re doing the training they’re supposed to do,” Harrington said.

Harrington said the motorcycles that the state purchased for the training programs were given to the other trainers throughout the state.

Harrington said the money is being used in other ways, such as a Share the Road With Motorcycle campaign this month, a website[1] devoted to motorcycle safety, videos and a motorcycle safety curriculum distributed to every driver safety program statewide that helps young drivers understand the risks associated with sharing the road with motorcycles.